A heated steering wheel. I daydreamed about such a wondrous unicorn during my formative years living in the biting cold of central Massachusetts. Alas, it did not exist in those days.
Fast forward to today and BMWs and such have offered heated steering wheels for years now, but our 2009 Dodge Ram longtermer is the first pickup I've found myself in that had such a feature.
I can hear it already. "No self-respecting truck guy would EVER need such a sissy feature."
I towed about 4000 pounds exactly 1,101 miles over the past few days. Each morning north of Sacramento the ambient temperature was in the high 30s-ish. And I clicked that button on every single time I climbed into the saddle (pardon the dust -- I hadn't yet cleaned the truck).
If liking a heated steering wheel in a truck makes me a sissy, then you can call me Ms Spacek.
In fact, I'd argue that heated steering wheels make even more sense in a pickup than in a luxury car. In a luxury car, once you're in, you're in. With the Ram, I would constantly climb into and out of the truck while mixing short trips with various truck-related activities such filling fuel cans, packing equipment into the cab, handling grimy car parts and loading the bed, and then getting out again and unloading all this stuff in multiple steps.
I'd put on my mechanic's gloves for the dirty work but didn't want keep them on while driving because:
a. they'd gank up the steering wheel, and
b. wearing gloves while driving sucks. You lose tactility and gloves of the work variety are kinda slippery on the wheel. It's just plain safer (and nicer) to drive sans gloves. That is, assuming the wheel is not ice cold or you're not in a racecar.
So, all of this is an elaborate way to say that I freaking love the heated steering wheel in our longterm Ram. Heats up quickly, too. Fifteen seconds and the surface is noticeably warm.
I'll have towing impressions for you in a followup post.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 14,994 miles
nealibob says:
01:01 PM, 11/24/09
+1 for new use of "gank" :)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gank
I agree with your thoughts here. How is the long-term reliability of heated steering wheels? Can you get a heated gear shifter in your truck (as in a real truck, with a 10+ speed transmission where you do not get to take your hand off of it in traffic)? :-P
bankerdanny says:
01:27 PM, 11/24/09
Somebody, Chevy I think in one of the Howie Long ads, was making fun of trucks with heated steering wheels (Toyota I expect). I thought the ad was stupid. A heated steering wheel in the winter would be a great feature.
huyracing says:
02:38 PM, 11/24/09
i used to freeze my hands off on cold mornings in my WRX, but for some reason that is not an issue with the GTI. perhaps its a matter of materials. i even got some gloves to wear for the WRX because it was so bad.
hybris says:
02:48 PM, 11/24/09
@huyracing
Yes materials do make a big differance. In my experience leather once cold stays cold for long time regardless of what you do.
On "Ms Spacek's" post a cold steering wheel is one of those things that people should adapt to and if you can't so be it move somewhere else or lay down the money to get a good pair of tight fitting gloves to keep your fingers warm.
Now I can understand that in upper trim trucks and cars now a days expect this level of pampering but do not fail into the rut that is I NEED a heated steering wheel, power windows, etc because in the long run all they are are extra luxuries.
hybris says:
03:29 PM, 11/24/09
*do not fall into the rut
vt8919 says:
07:27 PM, 11/24/09
Those Chevy ads drive me nuts (TV in general does, but that's another story). Rather than spend money designing and incorporating a heated steering wheel, built-in step, etc., they instead pretend they purposely left those features out and poke fun at the competition.
They should just admit they're one step behind the competition in those respects. That, or not bring up the fact that "we don't have these nifty features" in the first place.
audisport says:
12:17 PM, 11/25/09
Heated steering wheel..... Not for me.
But, the Ram has ventilated seats too???!!!!
Those are awesome and I need them. Getting swampass in the middle of July in my black Audi while wearing a suit pretty much blows.